Back Home!

The picture says it all....

Great to be home.

Last trip to KAF

I have to apologize up front for this particular post as it is a little self centered (given that I am in every photo). That being said, I have mixed feelings about this post as it captures moments from our last trip down to KAF.

The pictures directly above are of Wendall, Joe and I. These are the two guys that I worked the closest with as we spent all day, every day together. Two absolutely "top shelf" guys who I would work with again in a heartbeat.

The one picture is of Tom Wolfe and I. Tom was my Troop Commander 33ish years ago when I was in the British Columbia Dragoons. That was my short, sharp military career in the militia....my assessments always read "has trouble with authority". Tom is a great guy and it was really nice to meet up with him after all this time.

Our medal parade was the final one for CivPol in KAF. The members receiving medals are all part of the same group heading home in a couple of days. The folks who just came in to replace them, are all posted in Kabul and there will be no more postings in KAF or Kandahar. Really, the end of an era.

I keep getting asked by the various people I work with if I am excited to be leaving...I answer the question by saying, I not excited to be leaving, but I am extremely excited to be going home. This has been one incredible experience and oppourtunity for me, however it is time to go home....everyone and everything I love and cherish is not here, but back home. That's where I belong.

The Critchleys in Kandahar

That's right everyone...the Critchleys in Kandahar! Can you imagine...what are the odds that two generations of Critchleys are in Kandahar at the same time!

Today I travelled with our Ambassador to Kandahar for meetings and of course made a special effort to find Bonnie and have a coffee at Tims. This trip was actually my last trip to Kandahar before I leave Afghanistan in the coming days. I must tell you how extremely proud I was to introduce my niece to Ambassador Crosby and Deputy Head of Mission, Jess Dutton. I explained how Bonnie had arrived a couple weeks ago and we really represent a number of Critchleys who have served our Country. It's really quite something when you think of it. Of course my brother Steve (Bonnie's dad) had an outstanding career in the Military travelling across the globe to various conflicts, both my Dad and Mom served in the Armed Forces, Debra in the Reserves, my Father-in Law in the Airforce, and of course it continues on from there...Grandfathers, Uncles, etc. Without question, our family can stand tall and proud when we speak of Canada and all it means to us...

I gave Bonnie a big hug, told her we loved her and to stay safe.

OK...I'm back, for awhile

Hello All!

I must first apologize for not doing a post in such a long time. I have been very busy for a couple of reasons. First Debra and I went on a fabulous 3 week holiday to the UAE, Turkey and Spain. Then when I returned to Kabul I had to turn around and head back to Canada where I attended a International Police Conference in Kelowna (what are the odds...). Following Kelowna I was off to Burnaby BC for an interview on my next job (which I was successful on...yeah!), and finally back to Kabul where I have been busy getting ready to turn "the keys" over to my successor in the next several days.

I have lots to share and of course a pile of pictures from our trip. So, for the sake of clarity the pictures are as follows from bottom to top:

1) Beach in Dubai in front of our resort...incredible.

2) Grassed area of our resort where we would go to hide from the heat.

3) View of the ocean from our hotel in Istanbul.

4) Debra's "Force Protection" in Istanbul. One morning I was in dire need of a coffee and had to leave in search of one. I asked the hotel security to provide "protection" for Debra until I got back...I had my fingers crossed that Debra wasn't going to fall in love while I was gone! The one guy was a International Kick Boxing champion (I still could have taken him).

5) A tunnel in one of the Underground Cities in Capadocia Turkey. Centuries ago, people carved entire cities underground as a means of hiding and protection from invaders. They intentionally made the entrances very small, so they could attack the invaders if they happened to find the entrance. This picture was taken 8 stories under ground and the city could hold up to 100,000 people.

6) Also in Capadocia just outside our hotel. As the years went on, people would carve houses into the hills and mountains. They are all over Capadocia and some were quite extensive with entire communities living in one mountain.

7) Dinner with Cristel and Claus in Barcelona. We were so lucky to meet up with Debra's cousin and her husband and spend a couple days together. We had such a great time and it was really a shame to have to say goodbye.

8) Debra took a picture of this guy on the beach in Barcelona. We couldn't believe it when he started walking up to us..I know the Europeans are quite liberated, but this guy was funny. He saw Debra taking the picture, waved and walked right up and asked if she wanted to have a picture with him....Debra politely declined. I edited the photo, but I can tell you...his mother must be very proud.

That's it for now and I will do another post in the next couple of days!

Chiefs of Police - Chapter 3

While the CoP were in Kabul I took then around to the various organizations that we have our members seconded to. First stop was NATO Training Mission Afghanistan (NTMA). This group is led by LGen Caldwell a US 3 star General and he is the guy I am getting a golf shirt from. NTMA spends 1 billion (yes billion) dollars a month to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). The Afghan National Police are part of ANSF and our guys are in there to assist training and mentoring of the police.

Another stop was the European Union Police Mission (EUPOL). A couple of years ago the PM stood up in the House and said that Canada would contribute up to 22 members to the EUPOL Mission in Afghanistan....so here we are. There is quite a stark contrast bewteen EUPOL and NTMA as it relates to the "quality of life" for the members stationed at each place. NTMA is a military base where you share a room with 3-4 of your closest friends. You do not have a bathroom in your room and have to walk several blocks to find one, which is usually shared by a couple hundred people. At NTMA you work every day, all day. Literally from the moment you wake up until you go to bed. Plus, no alcohol allowed at all. At EUPOL...not so much.

EUPOL has an indoor swimming pool, squash courts and bar. You get your own room complete with a private bathroom and the work day is from 8:00 to 6:00 with Friday and Saturday off. As you can imagine, there are some long faces when the crew gets to Kabul and receive their assignments. I have to admit though...everyone really steps up and gets to work...the EUPOL guys of course just have to remind the NTMA crew that every Thursday night is "Margarita Night".

The picture at the Kabul airport is our Close Protection Team (CP). Great bunch of guys who kept us "company" throughout the visit.

Chiefs of Police - Chapter 2

No visit by senior officials to Afghanistan would be complete without an official dinner at the Embassy. Of course I was more than happy to oblige.....

I held the dinner on the CoP first night in Kabul and it turned out quite well, even if I do say so myself. One of the things I enjoy about being at the Embassy is that all of us here are like one big happy family. Everyone will pitch in to assist with each others programs. We had great help from all our colleauges at the Embassy, even though they are not part of our program. Everything from printing out the menus, setting up the tables, moving the food, etc. was all done by folks helping out.

The dinner was really the only oppourtunity the members in Kabul had to all get together as a group. As there are only three of us that work at the Embassy, it was quite a logistical feat to get everyone over from their various locations within Kabul. Not something we can do very often, so is was a nice evening of simply getting together to meet the CoP, socialize and share experiences with them.

I started the visit with the CoP in Kabul for a couple of days and then we made our way down south. The group picture represents about half the members we have in country. The remainder are stationed throughout the city and province of Khandahar...

Chiefs of Police Visit

I just had the incredible oppoutunity of taking several high ranking police officers to Afghanistan for a tour of what we do in the country. I have a pile of great photo's that I want to post but I am having problems with our Embassy internet connection...these three photo's took me an hour to post!

So...as with any good story, I have to start at the beginning. I flew to Dubai to meet D/Comm Paulson (my boss), Commissioner Lewis from the Ontario Provincial Police, Chief Blair from the Toronto Police Service, D/Chief Whiteway from Durhma Regional Police and Commander Fournier from Montreal. I arrived in Dubai a day before them so I could meet with our RCMP Liaison Officer (LO) to ensure the appropriate VISA's, security, etc. were all in place for their entry into Afghanistan.

The two pictures above were taken from my room in Dubai. The weather was outstanding and the service at the hotel was second to none. The first night in my room, I ordered a pizza and beer for supper. I was in heaven...sitting on my balcony in the warm air enjoying a great meal.

The third picture is how we started our Chiefs of Police (CoP) visit. The LO picked me up in the morning at the hotel in a brand new Range Rover. We were running a little late to get to the airport to pickup the CoP as they arrived from Toronto. The LO was backing up in front of the hotel in the parking lot and I was screaming at him to stop...he didn't. He backed up into a Lamborghini resulting in a scratch and dent in the hood. The parking attendants lost their minds and began wailing because the car belonged to an "Indian Princess". People were running everywhere, waving their arms in the air. The police were called and an investigation commenced. After about 30 minutes, the Indian Princess came out of the hotel....and she was in fact an Indian Princess. She was drapped in gold and jewels, approx 25 years old and talking on her cell phone. She looked at the damage and told the person on the other end of the phone that she would now get the "blue one" as the orange one was now damaged.

The poor LO was beside himself. He ended up getting a ticket and we are still waiting to find out how much it is going to cost to repair the hood. He kept looking at me and couldn't believe I was laughing over the whole thing...I told him not to worry. I said "if your going to back into a car, might as well make it a Lamborghini!".

We were late at the airport, but it didn't matter becasue the flights were delayed and two of the CoP's luggage was lost......

Chapter 2 on the next post.

Cpl. Yannick Sherrer

I regret that I am doing another blog on a Canadian soldier who lost his life in Afghanistan. Cpl. Yannick Sherrer died from the detonation of an improvised explosive device during a dismounted patrol in the Nakhony area of the Panjwaii District. He was 24 years old. Over the past 2 weeks, I have been extremely preoccupied with a visit by several Canadian Chiefs of Police to Afghanistan. I met them in Dubai and brought them into the country in order for them to meet their folks and see what we do here on a daily basis. We walked, drove and flew across Afghanistan as I showed them our various locations including Kabul, Kandahar, CNS and Panjwaii. We were down south in Kandahar when this tragedy occurred and they got to experience first hand a ramp ceremony on the runway in KAF. They felt the raw emotion as the body of a young Canadian soldier was being loaded up onto the plane for his trip home. What really resonated with me was that also being loaded up at the same time onto the massive CF Galaxy for the flight back to Ottawa, were scores of other young soldiers. These soldiers were dressed in civilian clothing having completed their Mission and were heading home. This scene at 1:30 in the morning, in the dessert heat on a runway far from home made me wonder just how much these soldiers and their families have been changed by their time in Afghanistan....one obviously in an extremely profound and tragic way.

Ok...I'm back.

Good evening all! I must apologize up front for being less than timely on my Blog updates. I had to go back to Ottawa for several days and was back and forth to our NHQ for meetings and the time has flown by. Prior to going home, I was extremely busy and there did just not seem to be enough hours in the day to keep up with all the things I wanted to accomplish. Looking ahead to the next couple of weeks I know I will really be "up to my armpits in alligators". I will do my best to make regular updates....

I have included a couple of pictures of what occurred while I was back home. As you can see, we managed to skate on the canal and just in time as it closed a couple days later.

The top picture is of the "Kabul Cup" and our Canadian Embassy Team that won it. When I heard the Kabul Cup tournament was going to occur while I was at home, I was really depressed. This is a hockey tournament between all of the various countries in Kabul. It is played inside in a gym and we (Canada) have never won the tournament before. I play hockey every Friday and I was so dissapointed that I was not there to support the team. I subsequently found out however that this was a "stacked" team and you will not see too many guys in the picture over 35, let alone 50! The good news is that our team won and the picture includes our Ambassador (holding the Cup) the Minister of National Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff (top Canadian Soldier). They all happened to be here for a visit right after the cup was won, so it is a great picture....(if I was in Afghanistan during the tournament, I'm sure I could have made the team).

When I got back to Kabul and entered my room, I was greeted by a blast of hot air. I couldn't figure out what was going on and I discovered that my room heater/air conditioner mounted on the wall was set at 33 degress! Turns out they did maintenance on it the day I left, and forgot to reset it....so, it was blowing hot air for 2 weeks until I returned. I got the heat shut off, then could not get the air conditioning to work to cool off the room. I called the "handyman" and he said he would come by.

Keep in mind I had just completed two days of flights and had not slep for more than 3 hours in 2 nights. They came by, fixed the air, I thanked them and decided to have a shower before I climbed into bed. As I stood in the shower...I discovered I had no hot water. I called the "handyman" and he came by.

He worked on the tank and said I would have to wait for the water to heat up before I could have a shower. So I went to bed and slept for a couple of hours looking forward to my hot shower. I woke up, climbed into the shower....you guessed it, no hot water. I called the "handyman" and he came by.

He replaced a part and said I would have to wait a couple a couple of hours for the hot water. I had a cold shower and went to work. I went to bed that night looking forward to my hot shower. In the morning I discovered not only did I not have hot water, I had no power as the tank blew the breaker. I called the "handyman" and he came by.

He told me that they would have to replace the tank and I would have hot water and power that afternoon. I had a cold shower in the dark and went to work. After work I came back to my room and found a brand new tank and my bathroom floor flooded as the tank was leaking. I called the "handyman" and he came by.

He told me that they would fix it and to go for supper. I went for supper and when I returned to my room, the floor was dry, I had hot water and I discovered that they had smashed my bathroom light fixture and I had no lighting in the bathroom. I called the "handyman" and he came by.

He replaced my light fixture and headed off. I went to bed and in the morning I had a hot shower with the lights on...it was heaven.

I just received a "Client Satisfaction Survey" from our property section. In an effort to continue providing excellent service, I was asked how I felt about their service....all I wrote was "the handyman came by".

Shopping in Kabul

Today is Friday which of course is the "day off" in Afghanistan and just like everywhere else in the world...folks have to shop. I thought I would post several pictures of what it is like to shop in Kabul.

It doesn't matter where you are in this city, there will always be stalls along the road full of merchandise for sale. Doesn't matter what you require, you can buy it on the side of the road. Everything from meat, vegetables, oil, fruit, wood, etc. Seriously...you can buy anything you would ever need. I just love watching the activity on the streets as we drive along. It is so interesting to see a small child of 5-6 walking with her parents on the side of the road, holding a chicken by the legs and it has blood still dripping from it. A couple of moments earlier the chicken was in a cage, then was butchered and handed over to the customer. "Fresh chicken" takes on a whole new meaning here...back home we would probably sent the kid for counselling.

There are several large "western style" grocery stores in the city, however most locals don't go there because the prices are higher and they tend to be targeted by the Taliban because of the western shoppers. We have had two attacks on stores over the last several days. The attacks are always the same...one or two suicide bombers will rush by the armed guards outside the store and if they are able to get inside, they will throw hand gernades and start shooting shoppers. Then the police or soldiers arrive and start shooting at the bad guy, who will then blow himself up killing everyone around him, which unfortunately is usually the police trying to stop him.

My shopping of course is much less dramatic (and perilous) as all my shopping is done inside one of the many Coalition compounds and once again, everything you could possibly need can be found at one of the camps. Yesterday myself and Wendall (our trusty Advisory NCO) went shopping for bedding for our in-coming crew. We had just found out that the camp they will be staying at doesn't issue bedding...so, we had to buy 11 sets and guess what color the sheets are?

Green of course.

A Real Kabul Winter...

Ok...this is a real Kabul winter. We had a couple days of heavy snowfall and cold tempratures. If it was a little bit colder, it would have been just like home! Unfortunately the sun came out today and the snow is already gone, turning the place into one big muddy mess.

The gal in the white coat is "MJ" who is in the CF and attached to the Embassy staff. The other lady is also attached to the Embassy in the developement portfolio...her name is Racima. They are both great ladies and true Canadians as they had to be outside playing in the snow as well.

The picture of the young Afghan is a lad who always hits us up to buy a bracelet from him. I have promised him that I will buy a couple before I head home...I give him credit, he is determined. Just like a postman he is always there...neither rain, nor snow, nor sickness...

Birthday Season

We are officially entering the Critchley family "Birthday Season" and I would like to wish three very special ladies of my family a very Happy Birthday!

Although I am a male, I am still smart enough to not publically announce the ages of these fine ladies, I will say that I have placed the photo's in chronicalogical order and I will let you figure out the order.

Kathy's special day is Feb 16th

Sue's special day is Feb 11th

Naomi's special day is Feb 17th

In celebration of your birthdays I had a Snickers Bar for breakfast this morning.....not sure why there was a huge beautiful tray of chocolate bars at the breakfast buffet this morning....but I have become very accustomed to life in Kabul and learned not to question everything and enjoy what you have in front of you and more importantly, to enjoy the moment....because it is fleeting and does not last.

So the above is my way of saying to please enjoy your birthdays and do something to make your day special and memorable!

Big hugs and kisses from your loving brother and uncle....

ps: I see on my previous post the Birthday Season extends all the way to Australia and Shell just celebrated her 24th birthday....funny, I think both Kathy and Sue are turning 24 as well.

Winter in Kabul

As you can see, winter has come to Kabul. Over the last couple of days we have had quite a rainfall which was really the first time that it has rained since I arrived almost 8 months ago. The rain was actually quite nice....it cleaned up all of the air pollution, was wonderful to listen to as I feel asleep at night and it covered the surrounding mountains with a layer of snow.

I just had to get up on one of the roofs and take these pcitures of the surrounding mountains as the sky was so clear and blue (normally you cannot see them due to the air pollution) and they were so striking. I had to crop the pictures so that I did not show the surrounding area to the Embassy but I think you will still get the sense of how Kabul is surrounded on all sides by soaring mountains.

In the one photo you can see the old Kabul Wall on the ridgeline. This was the wall built to defend Kabul from the invaders, much along the lines of the Great Wall in China, which both of course proved to be equally disasterous.

There is no snow on the ground down where we are and it was all just slushy rain. Turned the place into one big mud slick. I felt so bad for some of the young kids I saw as we moved around to various meetings in the city. For the most part they do not have proper winter clothes and wear sandals year round. These poor kids would be standing on the side of a incredibly busy road, soaking wet covered in mud, dressed in rags shivering and trying to sell everything from chewing gum to phone cards. Really something to see....